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Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
1973 115 min United States of America R 18+
★6.9
Western, Drama, History
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Trailers
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Description
Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
Budget:
$4.64M
Worldwide:
$11M
Starring
James Coburn
Actor
Kris Kristofferson
Actor
Richard Jaeckel
Actor
Awards
BAFTA 1974
— Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
BAFTA 1974
— Best Breakthrough
Key opinion
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is a revisionist Western that functions as a melancholic, existential meditation on the death of the Old West. While once marred by studio interference, the film is now widely regarded by many as an uncompromising, stylistically bold masterpiece from Sam Peckinpah.
| Acting | James Coburn provides a definitive, menacing performance as a weary lawman grappling with his own betrayal. | |
| Direction | The film masterfully employs signature Peckinpah techniques, including deliberate cross-cutting, evocative slow-motion, and a gritty, elegiac atmosphere. | |
| Screenplay | The narrative prioritizes mood, character study, and thematic exploration of a dying era over traditional linear plotting. | |
| Pacing | The film's impact is tied to the viewer's patience; some find the contemplative, slow-paced approach profoundly resonant, while others perceive it as tedious or dull. | |
| Score | Bob Dylan's score is a point of contention: some view it as an essential, moody accompaniment to the film's tone, while others argue it feels static or unnecessary. |